The Aberrant Knights assumed the stance of the Dragon Slaying Technique, perfectly replicating its sword forms.
It was as if Zeke faced a mirror—the Aberrant Knights mirrored his posture exactly as both sides searched for an opening to strike.
Zeke observed them closely and felt no sense of incongruity in their forms.
Their stances were flawless enough to serve as a textbook illustration for the Dragon Slaying Technique at the academy.
Zeke glared at the Aberrant Knights and raised the Holy Sword Ascalon.
At that moment, the Aberrant Knights charged at him first.
Whoosh—
They unleashed proficient sword strikes from the Dragon Slaying Technique, thrusting toward Zeke.
Boom!
Zeke raised his sword to deflect their strikes, advanced forward, and deployed the Chamber of Metal Power.
Rumble!
A powerful gravitational force extended outward, crushing down on the Aberrant Knights' bodies.
In an instant, the Aberrant Knights' bodies twitched, their movements halting.
Zeke seized the opening and drew forth the power of Great Purification that dwelt within Ascalon.
Hum!
A golden aura erupted from the sword, enveloping not only the blade but Zeke's entire body.
Zeke assumed the stance of the Dragon Slaying Technique and swung toward the Aberrant Knights.
Dragon Slaying Technique Special Transmission Form
Holy Spirit Qi
Light-Breaking Slash
The intense golden aura compressed into the shape of a blade and flew toward the Aberrant Knights.
Boom!
The Light-Breaking Slash sliced straight through their waists in one go.
From the severed torsos of the Aberrant Knights, the demonic energy—purified by the power of Great Purification—turned into black smoke that crumbled to ash and scattered.
Zeke intensified the power of Great Purification toward the bisected Aberrant Knights.
Sizzle—
Wherever the aura touched the Aberrant Knights' bodies, they crumbled into ash and dispersed. But then—
Hum!
The High Priest who stood on the dais raised both hands upward.
A violet aura spread from his body, which was soon absorbed into the Aberrant Knights as a cluster of light.
Gurgle—
Upon contact with the energy summoned by the High Priest, tentacles sprouted from the severed sections of the Aberrant Knights, attaching themselves to their mutilated bodies.
Even the purified and scattered body parts rapidly swelled with organic matter, restoring their original forms.
Thud!
Zeke gritted his teeth at the sight of the Aberrant Knights reviving in an even more ferocious state.
"Monsters of immortality, combining the powers of magical beasts, Outsider Species, and chimeras..."
They embodied all the strengths Zeke had ever witnessed in magical beasts and monsters.
The Aberrant Knights, who resumed their Dragon Slaying Technique stances, lined up sideways and closed in on Zeke.
Zeke lifted his gaze from the Aberrant Knights and looked at the High Priest on the dais.
He had suddenly noticed something odd.
"Why is he only providing support from the back without stepping forward?"
The High Priest seemed to be waiting for something, merely restoring the Aberrant Knights without taking direct action.
It felt strange that the High Priest, who saw Zeke as a thorn in his side, would hang back.
"What is he waiting for?"
Zeke wondered if the High Priest might have lured him here intentionally.
His eyes gleamed as he drew Laevatein and gripped it.
"Even if it's a trap, it doesn't matter. I'll kill him here and end this war." He raised Laevatein and thrust it into the ground.
At the same time, he activated the Chaos Field inherent to Laevatein.
Rumble!
The ultimate authority capable of nullifying the powers of constellations.
The Chaos Field erupted from Laevatein, enveloping the entire space. Sizzle—
Distortions rippled throughout the Chaos Field, giving rise to flickering heat haze.
Zeke left Laevatein embedded in the floor to maintain the Chaos Field.
He then extended his hand toward the shadows.
Sizzle—
The shadows gathered in Zeke's hand, forming the shape of a sword.
The Shadow Sword Caladbolg.
Zeke gripped Caladbolg and assumed the stance of the Dragon Slaying Technique.
Rumble—
Within the Chaos Field, no authorities could be used, so Zeke had to rely solely on the pure power of the sword.
He couldn't access the system window or his unique authorities, but there was no choice now.
As Zeke held Caladbolg with a calm gaze and invoked Black Sword Qi, a storm of WillForged Strong Qi arose.
Rumble!
The space restricted by the Chaos Field was soon filled with Zeke's Will-Forged Strong Qi.
He aimed his sword at the Aberrant Knights, who had likewise assumed the Dragon Slaying Technique stance.
The pure power of the sword, neither authority nor non-authority.
The Heart-Sword Zeke had awakened from the depths manifested through Caladbolg.
Hum!
Now one with the sword, Zeke thrust Black Sword Qi toward the Aberrant Knights.
Infinite Sword Art Special Transmission Form
Black Sword Qi
Black Dragon Emerges from Water
A shadow dragon burst from Caladbolg, roaring as it engulfed the Aberrant Knights.
Boom!
The black dragon devoured the Aberrant Knights in an instant, rampaging like a storm and laying waste to the surroundings.
Rumble!
The black dragon, swelling in size and charging in all directions, not only consumed the Aberrant Knights but also swallowed the dais where the High Priest stood, roaring fiercely.
The Aberrant Knights couldn't withstand the black dragon's power; their bodies tore apart and scattered everywhere.
Tentacles sprouted from the cross-sections in a desperate attempt to regenerate, but within the Chaos Field's range, authorities were restricted, preventing the Outsider Species' power from functioning properly.
Zeke raised his sword again and invoked the power of Full Power Technique.
Rumble!
Full Power Technique was one of the powerful techniques usable without authorities.
The energy of Full Power Technique surged into Caladbolg.
Hum!
Zeke unleashed Full Power Technique toward the pulverized Aberrant Knights.
Full Power Technique
Triple Spell
Will of Great Annihilation
It was an attack infused with Zeke's intent to utterly eradicate even the remnants of the Aberrant Knights.
The Will of Great Annihilation that erupted from Zeke's sword completely swept away the writhing bodies of the Aberrant Knights.
Sizzle—
The remnants, unable to regenerate through organic proliferation, turned to black ash upon contact with the Will of Great Annihilation, scattering in the wind.
Roar!
The black dragon, bearing the Will of Great Annihilation and the power of the HeartSword, enveloped the entire space as Zeke utterly crushed his foes.
Soon, the storm of Will-Forged Strong Qi subsided, revealing the devastated cavern.
The hundreds of Aberrant Knights that had lined up were nowhere to be seen.
Zeke stood firm in place, gripping Caladbolg as he surveyed the now-empty cavern.
With Laevatein still embedded in the floor, the Chaos Field remained active.
Zeke extended his Qi Sense to search for traces of the High Priest.
"He couldn't have died so easily."
The High Priest was Harvey West, the one who had sustained Narak's lineage in the shadows of the continent for centuries.
Since escape was impossible within the Chaos Field, Zeke intended to sever their enmity here.
It was then, as Zeke searched for the High Priest's traces—
Sizzle—
A black shadow suddenly rose before Zeke, and someone appeared.
At first, he thought it was the High Priest reemerging, but it wasn't.
A mysterious figure cloaked in a robe, hood pulled low to conceal the face.
Zeke sensed something oddly familiar about the figure.
"The one who killed Abel?"
The enigmatic figure who had extracted the heart from Abel, whom the Nostra Family had been restoring, leading to his death.
That same figure had appeared here.
"Could he be affiliated with Narak?" But that didn't add up.
The High Priest had invested immense effort into using Abel as a vessel for the Demon King.
He had transplanted the heart of the Light Dragon into him and fed him Ramon Siemens, eroded by the power of the Fell God, to revive the dormant soul.
There was no reason for the High Priest to deliberately remove Abel's heart and kill him.
Thus, Zeke speculated that another faction had allied with Narak recently, and their partnership had been short-lived.
The appearance of the one who took Abel's heart here supported that line of thinking.
Sizzle—
The High Priest emerged behind the enigmatic figure.
He looked at Zeke and said,
"Zeke Draker, you will not leave this place alive today." Zeke raised his sword in response.
"That's my line."
The power of the Heart-Sword emanated from his body once more.
At the same time, he charged forward, aiming a sword strike at the High Priest.
Whoosh!
In that instant, the enigmatic figure leaped toward Zeke and swung its sword.
Clang!
The clash of their swords unleashed a massive shockwave in all directions.
A considerable impact jolted through Caladbolg into Zeke's hands.
He stepped back, eyeing the figure who had blocked him.
It was a slender man.
"The power from his sword is no ordinary thing."
His skill clearly surpassed that of a Black Knight.
A Black Knight's caliber would make him a renowned knight on the continent, yet no known knight matched this description.
As Zeke pondered this, the enigmatic knight charged at him first.
Whoosh!
He swung his sword down from above toward Zeke.
Zeke raised his sword to parry.
Crack!
The swords collided, sending ripples of intense shockwaves.
It was a pure clash of sword against sword, with no constellation authorities intervening.
At that moment, the enigmatic knight suddenly exerted force and pressed forward.
Rumble—
Zeke felt the knight's sword grow heavier in an instant.
He tried to deflect it sideways for a counterattack.
Surprisingly, the knight's sword flowed like water, slipping from Zeke's blade and swiftly changing direction to slash at his shoulder.
Slash—
The arcing strike left a wound on Zeke's shoulder.
Drip!
With authorities restricted by Full Power Technique, Zeke's wound didn't heal immediately and bled.
Zeke furrowed his brow at the pain in his shoulder.
"It's not something I can easily adapt to."
Since acquiring the Immortal Body, nearly all wounds had healed instantly, and Zeke had rarely felt his stamina deplete.
He had experienced pain before, but physical injury like this had been quite some time ago.
Without the experience from the Inverted Tower where authorities were restricted, he might have been quite flustered in this situation.
But Zeke had prepared for such scenarios, which was why he had deployed the Chaos Field.
He reached into the subspace pouch at his side and injected a pre-prepared Nagaze Potion into his arm.
Sizzle—
The Nagaze Potion rapidly treated Zeke's wound.
With potion-like restorative effects, it also replenished some of his depleted stamina.
"Hoo."
Zeke steadied his breathing and regripped his sword.
Though Zeke's realm as a Transcendent was higher, the opponent's swordsmanship might surpass his in this situation, requiring greater focus.
Sizzle—
Zeke invoked Full Power Technique, enveloping his body in the power of the Body of Strength, and swiftly advanced toward the enemy.
Whoosh!
Caladbolg, enhanced by Full Power Technique, flew toward the enigmatic knight.
The knight smoothly deflected Zeke's strike with the same fluid, wave-like motion as before.
Zeke parried the sword and retreated.
A look of bewilderment crossed Zeke's face.
"This technique..."
From the start, Zeke had felt an odd sense of déjà vu.
His attacks kept missing their mark, constantly being deflected.
And that sensation felt strangely familiar.
Rumble!
The enigmatic knight built momentum, creating a flow, and unleashed a sword strike toward Zeke.
Boom!
It felt like a massive wave crashing over him.
Zeke couldn't help but be shocked by the technique the enigmatic knight used.
"Elemental Sword, Chamber of Water Power... Wave Sword?"
The technique passed down solely to Zeke from the Hero King, one only he could use— and now the enigmatic knight wielded it.
Zeke stepped forward, facing the oncoming Wave Sword.
Water power infused his sword, reversing the flow of the Wave Sword surging toward him.
Elemental Sword
Chamber of Water Power
Reverse Wave Sword
The wave's power reversed, crashing over the enigmatic knight and Narak's High Priest.
Boom!
The massive wave that engulfed everything gradually subsided.
In the center stood the knight protecting the High Priest of Narak.
Zeke's eyes widened upon seeing the knight's face, now revealed as his hood fell away.
"...Master Kaisir?"
Incredibly, the enigmatic knight bore the face of Kaisir, master of the Elemental Sword and the Hero King.